


Bed & Breakfast

by melodiousb



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Future Fic, M/M, New York Rangers, Retirement, Sharing a Bed, nothing happens because that's nice sometimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 13:44:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15887226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melodiousb/pseuds/melodiousb
Summary: Rick puts down his tools and sits back. "My place is just a couple of hours away," he says. "I thought I'd stay here, if the place was closer to ready, but..." He shrugs. "I can just as easily drive home.""You could still--" says Kevin. "I mean, if you don't mind sharing a bed."Rick laughs, and Kevin grins. "Sure, why not?" says Rick. "It wouldn't be the first time, right?"





	Bed & Breakfast

**Author's Note:**

> Kevin Klein has signed to play in Switzerland for another year, but I haven't forgotten when he said he wanted to run an eco-friendly B&B in Canada after he retires, and I hope he hasn't either.

Kevin is sanding the deck when he hears a car drive up. He doesn't look up, because he assumes it's one of the guys who've been helping him out, and because he really wants to get this half of the deck done before he breaks for lunch. But the voice that greets him is one he hasn't heard in almost two years.

"Hey," he says, smiling up at Rick Nash. "Long time no see. What's up?"

Rick shrugs. "Thought I'd come by and see how the project was coming along." He nods at the house.

"Cool," says Kevin. He puts the sander down and slowly gets to his feet. "You want the tour?"

He takes Rick around the house, first the outside and then the inside. He's pretty proud of all of it. The kitchen is just about finished, and the bathrooms, and Kevin's bedroom is furnished well enough for him to live here, with a massive four-poster he knows he should move to into one of the guest rooms at some point. There are six of those, empty still except for odds and ends of furniture and rolls of wallpaper. He'd started papering one of the closets, figuring that if it looked bad no one would be able to see it, but it turns out even the closets are going to have to be a two-person job.

"It's great," says Rick, when Kevin's shown him everything from the attic to the wood-pile. He hesitates. "Weren't you planning to open this spring?" 

"Yeah," says Kevin. "That's not going to happen."

"You don't look ready," Rick agrees.

"I could have been," Kevin says, feeling a little defensive. "I just wanted to do as much of the work on my own as I could. And I don't need to rush anything."

"Of course not," says Rick. "I wasn't trying--"

"Oh, I know," says Kevin. "It's cool." He looks at his watch. "Staying for lunch?"

"If you've got enough to share," says Rick.

It's just sandwiches, but Kevin gets a little fancy with them, pairing unexpected ingredients and putting some effort into the plating. He should practice, he reasons, if he's going to be serving paying guests soon. Also, he's' still getting a kick out of working in his new kitchen. Also he's showing off.

They eat at the card table in the kitchen, which isn't the most impressive piece of furniture, but no one's ever made it look as much like it belongs in a child's playhouse as Rick does.

"So," Rick says, when they're done. "Do you need help with anything?"

Kevin eyes him speculatively. "Sure," he says, and gets Rick set up with the sander. He watches him for a few minutes, mostly to make sure Rick knows what he's doing, and then goes to work on the steps.

It's nice, actually. Companionable. Kevin's mostly been using day labor when he needs an extra pair of hands, and a couple of his OHL buddies have come up, but they're usually here to make one afternoon of work and excuse for a night of drinking, and they need more supervision than Kevin has time for. Rick just gets on with it. He can work and talk at the same time, but he's an undemanding conversationalist. He'll meet Kevin halfway but he won't talk for the sake of talking. It's nice to have him there, and Kevin wonders for a moment if he's been stupid, insisting on doing most of this alone. 

"Where are you staying?" Kevin asks, in the late afternoon when the light has gone a dull gold. 

Rick puts down his tools and sits back. "My place is just a couple of hours away," he says. "I thought I'd stay here, if the place was closer to ready, but..." He shrugs. "I can just as easily drive home."

"You could still--" says Kevin. "I mean, if you don't mind sharing a bed."

Rick laughs, and Kevin grins. "Sure, why not?" says Rick. "It wouldn't be the first time, right?"

"Not even close," says Kevin. Maybe this should be awkward. Maybe that's why it's not.

Rick makes appropriately appreciative noises over dinner, and does most of the washing-up. Then they sit outside until it's too chilly to be comfortable. Rick gets his bag from the car while Kevin puts fresh sheets on the bed. It's only once they're in bed that Kevin starts to feel like this might be a bad idea. He doesn't move around a lot in his sleep, and neither does Rick, so he's not afraid that he's going to wake up cuddled up against Rick. He just wants to.

The next day is gray and misty, and Kevin has to put off the outdoor painting he'd planned on. But with Rick's help, he's ready to attack the wallpaper problem again, and when the trial closet goes well, they feel capable of tackling one of the bedrooms. It ends up being a productive day, and when Kevin talks about which rooms they should work on tomorrow, Rick doesn't say anything about going home.

The first night wasn't uncomfortable. The second night is comfortable. That might not be a good thing, though, Kevin probably shouldn't feel this relaxed about watching Rick sleep. It's the first time he's really looked closely at Rick since he showed up, but they've just spent the better part of two days together, so the changes--tanner skin, shaggier hair--are already familiar. 

Kevin can't remember if he's ever watched Rick sleep like this before. He doesn't think he would have, but he also knows he wouldn't remember it if he had. Kevin had a lot of things he didn't appreciate, a few years back.

Rick goes home in the middle of the week to pick up some clothes, and the house feels empty. Kevin will have staff here eventually, and guests, of course, but there will be times when there's no one. That never seemed like a bad thing before, but Kevin is wondering now if it's going to be harder when he's used to having people around all the time.

Once most of the bedrooms are papered, Rick starts dragging in furniture from around the house and arranging it.

"Furniture comes last," Kevin protests.

"I just wanted to see how it would look," says Rick. "Might as well figure out what goes together, what you still need. I heard about an estate sale next weekend," he adds, more practically.

"Oh," says Kevin. "That's a good idea. Where is it?"

Rick pulls out his phone to bring up a map. "Closer to my place than here," he says. "But not right in between. You can stay over, if you want."

It's not far enough to make that necessary, but Kevin does want.

They drive to Rick's house the night before the sale. Kevin hasn't been there before, and he's pretty impressed. The house is typical for the are, but typical for this area means huge and expensive. It's tasteful, too, but in that way where there's no evidence of a lack of taste, rather than the way where there's evidence of its presence.

They picked up dinner on the way, Rick pointing out that his cooking skills don't measure up to Kevin's. But he comes up with a nice bottle of wine to drink with it, and they eat on a deck overlooking the lake. Nothing here needs to be apologized for, even if Rick does anyway.

Kevin hasn't had more than an occasional evening beer for the last month, so half a bottle of wine goes to his head. That's not a bad thing, and it might be a good one, the warm glow from the wine fitting right in with this relaxed meal in these idyllic surroundings. This is the moment, he thinks, when he ought to kiss Rick, with a sunset for a background and an alcoholic excuse if they need one. He doesn't think they will. He has an idea that Rick is expecting him to do it.

He waits, instead, letting the moment stretch out for a long time before it ends. It doesn't have to happen now. Later, when he's trying to fall asleep in one of Rick's guest rooms, he's glad he didn't do anything. He wouldn't want to kiss Rick just because he was tipsy, or because he didn't want to sleep alone.

They get up earlier than they need to, still on Kevin's schedule from the B&B. They're planning on heading straight back to Kevin's after the sale, so Rick packs up some stuff while Kevin sits at the kitchen counter and breathes in the steam from his coffee.

Watching Rick in his own space highlights how much he's been standing on ceremony in Kevin's. It's fun to watch him moving around, so sure of where everything is that he doesn't have to think about it. He's packing and getting breakfast together at the same time, pulling out to-go cups for the coffee and getting the house ready to leave again. He'd be like this with the guests at the B&B, Kevin thinks. Competent, helpful. Busy but unhurried. Kevin wonders how long Rick is planning to stay with him.

As if in answer, Rick steps back into the kitchen with a bag dangling from his hand.

"What's that?" asks Kevin, even though he knows.

"I was wondering if I should bring my sleeping bag back with me." 

Apparently Rick has given up on waiting for Kevin to answer the question he hasn't asked.

Kevin steps down from his stool and walks over to Rick. Rick's eyes are bright--he knows the answer to that question as well as Kevin does. This is just a formality.

He kisses Rick, and hears the sleeping bag drop to the floor with a thunk as Rick's arms come around him. It doesn't feel like it's been as long as it has, doesn't feel like anything's changed.

"We'll pick this up later?" says Rick.

"Yeah," says Kevin. There's no more sense of urgency than there was before. He kisses Rick once more and goes to grab his stuff. The sleeping bag never makes it into the car.


End file.
